


Protecting His Handler

by StarSpangledBucky



Series: Winterbones/Rumbuck [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Bucky's Been Out Of Cryo For A While, Canon Divergence-ish, Cause He's A Dick, Double Agent Rumlow, Flashbacks, Handler and Asset Bonding, Hydra (Marvel), Kissing, M/M, Mature Just For The Violence, Partners to Lovers, Pierce Always Dies, SHIELD, Violence, good guy Rumlow, sorta - Freeform, winterbones - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 15:04:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5295941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSpangledBucky/pseuds/StarSpangledBucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sort of a Winterbones AU where Rumlow’s been an undercover SHIELD agent, disguising himself as a Hydra agent to report back to SHEILD on anything they do. He’s Bucky’s handler during that time, and there’s no lie that they’ve bonded. Unfortunately Rumlow’s true identity is uncovered and Bucky is ordered to kill him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Protecting His Handler

**Author's Note:**

> For my friend Candace who asked for this on tumblr with the drabble pairing.  
> Even though this has gone for longer than a drabble.
> 
> The drabble was: 33. “Please don’t do this.”
> 
> As unsure as I was about posting this, I have. Everything I write with these two will be good, and good only. I'm not into HTP (Hydra Trash Party), thus you won't be seeing it here.
> 
> I have my own headcanon and Bucky & Rumlow, so I don't want to be hounded for it, seeing as HTP seems to just be the main thing with this pairing? Which I don't like, but that's there choice to write it, however it's my choice to write good guy Rumlow and good guy Rumlow only.

Bucky’s leaning against the far wall, his head ducked down as he naps standing up. There are agents watching him from all other angles in the room, wrapped up in thick jackets to keep themselves warm. Hydra tends to hide themselves away in bases where everything leaks and the walls are grimy. The room is cold, but not cold for Bucky, considering he’s far too used to the feeling of an icy temperature all over his body. He’s been out of cryo for a while, but considering his lack of erratic behaviour, he’s been allowed to stay out of it for much longer than usual. 

His next mind wipe is fast approaching though, and Bucky’s not ready. Because slowly, but surely, he’s beginning to remember a few bits and pieces from his past. Not only that, he’s been trying his hardest to be his best for Rumlow, his handler. The pair had bonded ever since Rumlow pledged himself to Hydra and was appointed as Bucky’s handler. Something didn’t exactly sit right, but Bucky felt that maybe Rumlow  _did_  have a soft spot for him and wasn’t going to treat him as harshly as some of the others did.

“Where’s the asset!” a voice yelled, stirring Bucky from his sleep.

His gaze flickers to the main doors where the noise came from, his brow creasing in confusion. A body slams through the door and hits the floor roughly, rolling twice, before coming to a stop in the middle of the room. Rumlow groans as he pushes himself up onto his hands and knees, spitting out blood from a busted part on his lip. Bucky’s quick to act and moves from the wall to rush to Rumlow’s aid, because every since they’d been going on missions together Bucky had protected Rumlow as Rumlow did for him. But he’s stopped by one simple command that he still can’t pull from his mind. Because now Alexander Pierce is in the room and Bucky knows something is completely wrong.

“Stand down,” Pierce ordered, glaring straight at Bucky.

Rumlow turns his head to look at Bucky, and he can see some shards of fear in his handler’s eyes, it worries him. But he stands down, because his body overpowers his mind more and he doesn’t say a word, only steps back, but still stays at a reasonable distance in case something happened to Rumlow.

“Agent Rumlow isn’t who he says he is. He’s not an agent of Hydra, he’s an agent of SHIELD. Working undercover ever since he pledged to be loyal to Hydra,” Pierce continued.

The agent beside Pierce steps forward and kicks Rumlow square in the abdomen, winding him and knocking a badge out that was hiding deep inside his jacket. Bucky kneels down, despite his orders, feeling all eyes on him as he picks up the badge. And it’s true, Rumlow  _is_  an agent of SHIELD, it’s loud and clear, the badge isn’t a fake, it’s real.

“How does it feel to be betrayed by your handler? How does it feel to learn that he’s been playing a game this entire time? How does it feel for you, Winter, that someone you thought you could trust has just thrown all of that back in your face,” he taunted.

“D-don’t listen to him, Winter,” Rumlow choked out, swallowing a sharp intake of air as he clutched his side.

Pierce is smirking wickedly like he’s become the ruler of an entire empire, circling around Rumlow like a vulture until he stops in front of him again.

“How does it feel to be lied to by the man you seemed to bond with so quickly? Hydra doesn’t miss anything, we’ve seen how you two are. Agent Rumlow has a soft spot for you.  _You’re_  his weakness,” he added, as he stepped around Rumlow and approached Bucky.

Bucky feels like he’s going to swallow his tongue with the panic that rises within his chest and the bile in his throat. The thing is…he doesn’t feel betrayed, because Rumlow hasn’t done that at all. Bucky has been at the hands of Hydra for years and wasn’t a follower of anyone. Because the only person he relied on was Rumlow. The only people Rumlow has betrayed is Hydra, because Bucky refuses to be a part of it. There’s a flicker of a memory in his mind that drowns out reality for a moment.

_He’s getting ready to go into the chair, to have his mind wiped, and he’s scared. Because he doesn’t know what to do, he never wanted this, he’d rather have stayed in the snow in ‘43 to die. But he’s there, being used as a weapon, getting his mind wiped time and time again. But Rumlow’s there, he’s been to every single one of his mind wipes. Yet just before Bucky’s being held down in the chair by strong clamps, Rumlow whispers something only he can hear._

_“I’ll get you out of here kiddo, I promise,”_

Bucky never forgot that, even after wipes, it was as if it was engraved in his brain and it wasn’t going anywhere.  _Who does Hydra think he’s going to believe? Them…or Rumlow?_ Bucky would of course go for the latter, he always would.

“Of course, you wouldn’t show that weakness out in the open unless-” Pierce paused, taking a handgun from another agent. “…I threatened to kill the asset,” he mused.

Bucky’s jarred from his thoughts at the press of the barrel of the gun against the side of his head. He looks directly at Rumlow, seeing the panic wash over him.

“No, don’t!” Rumlow shouted, wincing as he tries to straighten himself up.

The gun is gone, but it’s being pressed into Bucky’s palm, and as if on instinct he takes it, gripping it tightly in his hand. Pierce yanks Rumlow up by his hair, drawing out a grunt from the agent as he struggles, considering the agent that entered the room with Pierce had Rumlow’s hands held behind his back.

“He finally lets his weakness show. So we’ll go with an alternative,” Pierce issued, looking from Bucky, then down to Rumlow.

Rumlow’s stomach drops at the next command that Bucky is given, his eyes falling on Bucky who looks to flinch at the order.

_“Kill him,”_

Bucky’s eyes dart back to Rumlow, he’s panicking, and Rumlow can see it. His eyes are a little wider, they’re glassy like he’s on the verge of tears, and his chest is rising and falling erratically. He physically shudders when Bucky aims the gun at his head, letting his eyes fall closed as he swallows thickly. When he opens his eyes, he meets Bucky’s again, watching a tear slide down the asset’s cheek. Because Bucky’s gained so much memory and emotion back from being out of cryo, yet that was all part of Rumlow’s plan. Until he failed, and he knows he’s failed…but what hurts the most is that he knows he’s failed Bucky. He knows Bucky’s chances of escaping are slim if he goes through with this. His lips part as he has a stare-off with Bucky, eyes pleading for Bucky to take control of himself.

“Please don’t do this,” he whispered.

_Suddenly, Bucky’s not in the dank room anymore, he’s outside, in the open and there’s…gunfire. He looks around him to see Hydra agents running left, right and centre, some of them dying on the way. Bucky looks off to the side and sees himself, clad in all of his gear, the mask covering his nose and mouth. Rumlow’s beside him, firing away at their enemy, Bucky’s doing the same, only at certain intervals. Then he’s shifting and shoving Rumlow back because Bucky’s protecting his handler by taking the three bullets to his metal arm before killing the shooter. Rumlow looks up from where Bucky is crowded around him, scowling, until he notices the small marks on Bucky’s metal arm from the bullets._

_“Thanks big guy,”_

_His hand comes up to ruffle Bucky’s hair and the asset enjoys that because human contact is everything he needs. Himself and Rumlow had bonded a fair amount that day. But that’s most likely when the cracks began to show._

“Asset,  _kill_  him,” Pierce snarled.

_“We’re going to escape one of these days kiddo,”_

_“You can trust me,”_

Truthfully, he did trust Rumlow, he had since he first stepped out of cryo with Rumlow there, he was handled carefully,  _only_  by Rumlow.

_He can’t do this._

“Kill him!” Pierce roared.

Bucky clenches his jaw and puts some pressure on the trigger, watching Rumlow’s eyes close as he prepares himself. That is, until Bucky is changing the direction of the gun, pointing it straight towards Pierce’s head.

“Нет,” he spat, applying the last amount of force onto the trigger.

The sudden change sends the whole room into a frenzy once Pierce is gunned down. Bucky puts a bullet through the agent that is holding Rumlow, before swinging his arm out and clocking another agent that tried to attack. He circles himself around Rumlow, protecting him like he would any other day, yet this feels so different. Bucky’s tactics are too advanced for the agents, they’re either gunned down or knocked out from the force of Bucky’s arm. 

Rumlow’s staring at the ground, heaving out the breath that he’d been holding in, he feels numb but he’s relieved, he’s so relieved. Bucky stops immediately when they’re surrounded by bodies, chest heaving as he shakes hair from his face. He looks around the room, before resting his eyes on Pierce, the bullet wound clear as day on his forehead. Bucky wipes away blood that’s gotten onto his face, the gun falling out of his hand as he turns to Rumlow. He drops down onto his knees and reaches out, but his handler flinches slightly, despite the relief.

“Were you really going to shoot me?” he asked, his voice somewhat strained.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Bucky answered.

This is the first time Rumlow’s ever heard Bucky speak to _him_  and not to everyone.

“I wouldn’t harm my handler,” he breathed out. “You’ve protected me, and I’ve protected you. And you promised we’d escape one day,” he added.

Rumlow smiles weakly and drops his hands down on Bucky’s shoulder.

“I did,” he replied.

Bucky shuffles closer, now that Rumlow’s defences are down and he feels like he can safely sit by him. Rumlow lifts his hand, resting it on the side of Bucky’s face, his fingers brushing lightly into Bucky’s hair. He lets out a huffed laugh, with another smile in tow. His forehead drops against Bucky’s, eyes closing as he still tries to regain his breath from the forceful kick to the gut he’d received.

“Thanks kiddo,” he murmured.

He feels a hand on his waist and opens his eyes for a second, only to close them again when Bucky pressed his mouth firmly against Rumlow’s. It’s only chaste but speaks larger than words, because they’d bonded as handler and asset on the field. But off the field they’d bonded as lovers with every spare chance alone that they could get.

“We should-” he paused, curling his fingers in Bucky’s hair when he deepened the kiss.

When they part, Bucky helps him up off the ground, his arm coiled around Rumlow’s waist to support him. He leans in and presses his face against the side of Rumlow’s and sighs a little.

“Don’t scare me like that again, I thought he was going to kill you instead,” he mumbled, as they exited the room and quickly hurried down a set of stairs.

“I’m sorry I lied,” Rumlow groaned, planting his free hand on his ribs, his other arm slung around Bucky’s shoulder.

“Don’t be…you’re getting me out of here, right?” Bucky questioned, kicking open the main door with his foot.

“I promised,” Rumlow said, glancing at Bucky to see the small grin curve at the corner of his mouth.

They approach a helicopter and Rumlow looks sceptical at first until Bucky opens the door to the inside.

“I can fly this,” he stated.

“You sure?” Rumlow tested.

“Do you trust me?” Bucky retorted.

Rumlow chuckled through the ache of his ribs and nodded.

“I do,” he responded.

Bucky helped him inside and climbed in afterwards, before closing the door and seating himself in the seat beside Rumlow. He knows perfectly well how to fly a helicopter, and gets it up and running within minutes. Rumlow glances out the window just enough to see multiple other agents storming out of the base, weapons raised but they’re not strong enough against a helicopter. And Rumlow knows those agents aren’t the sharpest shooters either.

“Got some agents targeting us big guy,” he spoke.

“We’ll be too far away for them to find us by the time they think of a plan. To SHIELD?” Bucky answered.

“To SHIELD,” Rumlow confirmed.

The exhaustion creeps up on Rumlow as he finally dumps all of the stress, and the act of being affiliated with Hydra. Because now he’s taking Bucky away from them like he promised, he wouldn’t let Hydra have him as a weapon anymore.  _He did a pretty damn good job._

“Thanks again, Bucky,” Rumlow muttered, leaning into Bucky and closing his eyes to sleep.

Bucky finds it in him to smile again and let Rumlow rest his head on his shoulder while he lets his mind wander with what is to come. Danger isn’t too far away, but Bucky will always protect his handler.


End file.
